Redemption Road
by Vulcan Wolf
Summary: Based off of an intriguing prompt on the kink meme on LJ. Jim pays a visit to Riverside post-Nero and learns the value of apologizing to someone and the necessity of family, no matter how twisted yours happens to be. One-shot, full prompt inside.


** Just me, VeeDub, filling yet ANOTHER meme prompt! Anon posted the following prompt: "So...we have a lot of abusive!Franks, and not enough actually-pretty-ok-guy!Franks, right? So how about, after the whole Narada incident and all that, but before the crew leaves for the five year mission, Jim goes home to let his mother and Frank know he's leaving. Only, Winona isn't home yet, and Frank and Jim are stuck at home waiting for her. Cue awkwardness and finally: confessions. In the end, I would like to see Jim apologize for being a complete brat to Frank on the account that Frank wasn't his father. And Frank just basically admitting that he had no idea how to deal with Jim (but he tried). And no, this Frank was never abusive." This one got my attention, sadly the resulting story took on a life of it's own. Well, maybe not sadly, just...not what I was expecting it to do and probably NOT what the OP wanted. Oh well. Here's the result. Enjoy!**

* * *

Redemption

Jim Kirk reminded himself to thank Scotty for using the Starfleet Command transporters to beam him straight from San Francisco to Riverside. It beat the hell out of taking a transport-shuttle, really, and he was standing at the end of his own driveway. Jim looked over his shoulder before heading down the unpaved drive, wondering what his mom would _say _when he told her everything. In the past two months, he hadn't seen or spoken to her since the initial home-coming chaos. Since then, he'd been busy saving his own ass before the Academy Board and Starfleet Council, making sure everything had cleared and he _was _the Enterprise's CO (note to self: send Admiral Pike a handwritten thank-you and buy him a bottle of really nice wine, something from Chateau Picard maybe), seeing to repairs and other matters _aboard _the Enterprise, picking his crew and putting up with the backlash when other captains wised up and realized he was stealing the best and brightest right out from under their snooty noses. On that end, things were looking pretty good and all he needed was an XO. Jim was quietly keeping his fingers crossed that Spock would offer, if Jim didn't get the nerve up to ask him first. He couldn't imagine _not _having Spock. He had Bones, that was awesome in itself, he had Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura, who _still _hated him, and Scotty. God bless that man.

When Jim finally reached his house, which he hadn't actually _seen _in three and a half years, he stopped and just looked at it. He couldn't tell if anyone was home or not, but that didn't mean anything. With his duffel across his back, Jim folded his arms across his chest and just stared at the house. He folded his arms over the front of the gold command-division tunic Pike had given him last week and titled his head a little to one side. It looked like Frank had found a new car, it looked a lot like the one Jim had wrecked in a moment of childish, impulsive loathing. Boy had _that _stunt gotten him into hot water. His mom had been devastated because the car had been his father's, but _Frank _wanted to sell and it and even Jim wasn't so ignorant. He'd put his foot down…on the accelerator, and driven it straight off a cliff down at the old quarry. Trying not to think about that, Jim shook his head and headed up the rickety front steps. The door was locked, no big surprise _there_, so he found the spare key and let himself into a house he didn't remember too well or too fondly.

"Hey, anybody home?" he called, tossing the key onto the side-table, "Mom? Frank?" Geeze, was _anybody _home? Huh. So much for _that_ home-coming. Trying not to feel _too _disappointed, Jim headed upstairs to the second floor. His room hadn't changed much, he noticed with a sense of relief. He dropped his bag on the floor and fell backwards on his bed, staring at his blank ceiling.

* * *

Jim surprised himself by drifting off and was jolted awake by the sound of an engine, tires on gravel. He fell off the bed, real graceful, and scrambled to his feet, tearing downstairs in hopes his mom was home at last. Nope. Jim hit the porch at a sprint, caught the support, and skidded to a halt. Two cars sat on the driveway, two very _nice _old classic cars. Jim wasn't really paying much attention to the cars so much as he was to the drivers. Clutching the support to keep himself from falling over, Jim caught his breath.

"Frank?!" He gasped. The two men turned, and Jim sank against the wooden beam, "Oh."

"_Jim_!" Boy did his stepfather look surprised. There was a quick, quiet conversation, and the other man left. Jim had a brief, foolish wish for Bones or even _Spock_, he just didn't want to face Frank alone. Not that Frank had ever abused him, really he hadn't, but Jim had never gotten along with his stepfather. That was mostly his fault, hindsight was a beautiful thing, and he'd just never cared enough to apologize. Getting past the initial staring-contest, Frank came to the porch and up the stairs. Jim quietly got out of his way to let him into the house that was more _his _than Jim's. But Frank didn't _go _into the house right away. Jim, achingly uncomfortable under the scrutiny, sat down on the banister and kicked his heels.

"Jim…you look…uh, you look _good_." Frank waved vaguely at Jim's uniform, "So…Captain, huh?"

"I guess." Jim shrugged, "Where's Mom?"

"She won't be home until late. How did you _get _here? Did you fly out?"

"Nah, I cheated." He smirked, "I've got a friend in Engineering, real handy with a transporter."

"Without a proper receiving pad?"

"You haven't met Scotty." Jim smirked. Scotty, his resident miracle-worker. His friend.

"Yeah, no. We hear a lot about you kids, but…"

"I know." Jim sighed. Yeah, he knew alright. People _heard _about the brilliant young minds leading the Flagship, but most people didn't _know _them. In the two months since getting home, Jim and his officers had been real picky about giving interviews to the press or really straying from the Complex. The hero-worship didn't sit too well with them. The silence was uncomfortable, but Jim had no idea what to _say _to Frank.

_A simple "I'm sorry" would be a nice start._

_Aw, shut up. _Why did his voice of conscience suddenly sound so much like _Spock_? How annoying. They must have stood out on the front-porch for fifteen minutes, trying and failing to make any kind of decent, civilized conversation. Finally, Frank coughed.

"Uh, would you…uh, would you like to come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Jim smiled. It was weird being invited into his own house, but oh well.

"I mean, I guess you've already been inside and all that, but…yeah."

"Thanks, that's nice." Jim followed Frank into the house and looked around, "House looks good." More silence. Frank vanished into the kitchen.

"Are you hungry, Jim?" he called. Hungry? Jim was _starving_, if that was anyone's precise business! He couldn't remember the last time he'd slowed down long enough to eat, let alone _sleep_. He wandered into the kitchen.

"What, you've moved beyond peanut-butter and jelly and mac-and-cheese?"

"Don't look so surprised." Frank actually rolled his eyes. Jim chuckled. That did it, the tension broke and Jim sat down at the table, watching his stepfather move around.

"I can't remember the last time I ate something, don't tell Bones. He'd kill me."

"I won't snitch to your doctor friend, I promise." Frank just smiled, "What sounds good?"

"Honestly, just about anything. Surprise me, I'm starving." Jim folded his hands under his chin, "Y'know, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For _what_?"

"For being such a brat." Well, there you go.

"Jim, nobody's perfect."

"Don't…please don't. Two months ago, I stared Death in the face and laughed at him, _literally_. I've got a lot to apologize for, and I wish Mom was here, but…she's not." Jim leaned his forehead against his hands and closed his eyes. He personally sucked at apologizing to people, it just wasn't a strong suit, "Besides, _you're _the one who deserves to hear me say I'm sorry. I was a bratty kid, I don't know _how _you put up with me."

"I tried, Jim, but you didn't make things easy."

"Tell me about it! What smells good?"

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup."

"Sounds good." And it _smelled _good, "Comfort food." Jim just smiled.

"I tried, Jim, I tired so hard to be there for you kids, but I couldn't do it." Frank was still on the apologies track, Jim was okay wtih that. He had some of his own to air.

"That was our fault. Sam…he ran away, you know? And I was so damn impressionable. If he didn't think you were good enough, who was I to argue? Frank, you're a saint."

"I wouldn't go _that _far. You had reasons to hate me. I was trying to fill in a gap that was a little too big for me." Frank turned and put down two plates. They ate in silence, but it was actually kind of nice. Jim turned his sandwich over and looked at both sides of the toast.

"Damn. Back when I was a kid, you'd have burned this thing to an unrecognizable lump."

"Guess I'm not a total loss, hey?"

"Guess not. I really _am _sorry. Bones got me to clean up, you know? People don't like bratty know-it-alls."

"I've gotta meet this guy, he sounds like a good soul."

"Who, Bones? More like a _lost _soul." Jim took a sip of milk, wondering why he felt _young _again. "Wife divorced him a week before he enlisted, took everything. I found a drunk, bitter aviaphobe."

"Oh, that must have been a fun shuttle-flight."

"No, not really. I did everything I could to keep him from keeping his promise to throw up on me." Jim chuckled, "I did it, but I've never seen somebody move that fast in my life. The minute we touched solid ground, he was off for the nearest bathroom."

"And this is the same man you've picked out as your CMO?"

"Yep. I think Pike had something to do with that, actually." Jim snickered, "Not that _I'll _complain." After eating, Jim took a shower. Once he was clean, he debated putting his uniform back on. Hmm. Going out to the landing, he leaned over the banister, "Hey, Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"Question."

"Answer."

"Uniform or civvies?"

"You call _that _a question? Uniform! No-brainer!"

"Thank you." Jim smirked, "I like this guy." Going back to his room, he dug out his communicator and rang up San Francisco. As he got dressed, he waited for Bones to pick up.

"Somebody had _better _be dying!"

"Uh, nope. Sorry, Bones, nobody's dying yet. What's got your tail in a twist?"

"Oh, Jim. It's just you." Well, duh. Jim rolled his eyes.

"Just me. Yeesh. Who pissed _you_ off, old man?"

"Nobody."

"Bones." Jim stopped, looked at the communicator, "Don't you _dare _lie to me. You don't answer comm.-calls like that if you're in a good mood."

"Who said I was in a _bad _one?"

"I ain't stupid, old man. What's going on?"

"Nothing is _going on_, Jim. Don't you dare come back to San Francisco." Oh, _great_. Maybe he couldn't see Bones, but Jim knew when something was wrong. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Bones, did Jocelyn have anything to do with this little tiff?" No response. Jim sighed, "Bones, man, I won't come back to San Fran, but you can't keep me in the dark about this. If that bitch is sniffing around where she's not welcome, you've gotta say something."

"Jim?" Oh crap. Bones was in it bad. Jim chewed on his lip.

"Bones, do me a favor. Drop whatever your doing, call Scotty, and get your sorry ass out here, I'll come and get you. Just get out of San Francisco. I'll take care of you." _And I'll take care of things with your ex, too. _He added privately. Bones uttered a muffled thank you and Jim finished getting dressed. This was bad. He trotted downstairs and stuck his head into the kitchen, "Hey, Frank?"

"Hmm?"

"Mind if I borrow one of the cars? I've gotta go out to 2-1A real quick."

"Don't tell me Command has a problem with their youngest captain already?"

"No, their youngest captain's CMO has a problem with his ex-wife. I've gotta go out there and pick up Bones, and whatever pieces he comes in."

"Uh-oh. Take the Vette, she's faster. Less cranky. Anything I should do?"

"Just be ready for him." Jim took the keys and headed out, not even bothering with a jacket. When he got to the shipyard, he was waved right through the gates. Pulling up to the recruiting office, he put the Vette in park, got out, and flipped open his communicator, looking at the clear blue sky, "Kirk to Transporters."

"Transporters on standby, sir. Ready at your word."

"On my mark, Scotty. Beam to the location of my signal."

"Right-o, Captain." Even Scotty sounded sad, not a good sign.

"Captain Kirk! Sir, we weren't expecting you!" A yard-boss called out in greeting. Jim waved him to silence.

"Kirk to Transporters, engage." He waited until he saw the transporter, "Mr. Belkin, do me a favor."

"Yes, sir?"

"Note that I was here to pick up Doctor McCoy on a site-to-site transporter from San Francisco, then send the log-entry to Admiral Pike _in _San Francisco at Starfleet Command."

"Yes, Captain. Is everything alright?"

"Something tells me no. Thank you, Mr. Belkin. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." Robert Belkin saluted and went off to do what Jim had said. Meanwhile, Jim went forward to hug his crestfallen best friend.

"What happened, Bones? Even Scotty sounded sad."

"Spock ran her off, y'know? Much as I hate the bastard, he's worth his weight in gold." Bones was practically in tears. Jim got him into the car and left the shipyard.

"Wait a minute. _Spock _ran off Jocelyn?"

"Yeah. Told her if she came within seven feet of me or anyone on the Command Crew ever again, it would be the last time. I almost kissed the goblin."

"Was it _really _that bad?"

"Yeah, it really was."

"You don't have to tell me, I don't want to know. I just can't believe Spock stood up for you like that." Jim smiled, "That's not like him at all."

"Do you think you can convince him to come along for the ride? I'd feel better having him around. Just don't tell him I said that or you'll never see straight."

"Scout's honor." Jim just shook his head. He knew how fast Bones was with a hypo and had the bruises to show for it. The drive back to the house was quiet. Frank was there for them, he welcome Bones to the house, they shook hands, and that was about it. Jim grabbed two beers from the fridge and sat down on the porch-swing with Bones. They drank, chatted, and Bones cried a little. Jocelyn had come to San Francisco just to tell her ex-husband that she'd found someone better than him, a lawyer from Toronto, and Joanna was happy as a lark to call this new man "Daddy" and didn't she just get along so _well _with his two children? Oh, _that _was great. Jim hugged Bones, "She's the one who lost, Bones. You're too good for somebody like her, and if Joanna really thinks this is okay, she doesn't deserve you either." After a while, Frank came out and joined them and they stayed off the subject of Jocelyn McCoy's visit to San Francisco to break her husband's heart.

* * *

By the time Winona got home three hours later, they were all laughing at some retelling of Jim's rowdier Academy escapades. He recognized the truck right away and smiled.

"Looks like Mom kept the truck."

"Won't give the damn thing _up_." Frank rolled his eyes, and Jim knew he'd tried time and again to either get rid of or replace that thing. And failed.

"Bet she wasn't expecting _two _of us when she got home." Bones addressed his bottle, and Jim snorted.

"I don't think she was expecting _me_, Bones, let alone _you_." Jim watched his mom get out of the truck and go around to the other side. She got something out of the backseat, but Jim couldn't see precisely _what _until she cleared the cab and stood by the hood of the truck.

"Whoa." Bones blinked, "You're a _brother_?"

"That's Danika. She's just three." Frank shrugged bashfully, "Sorry I forgot to mention that."

"She's yours, Frank?" Jim set down his half-empty bottle.

"Hmm."

"Thank you." He exhaled, "Get her mind off of other things. I just hope she was a better mother for Danika than she was for me." Frank just nodded. Jim couldn't find it in his heart to be jealous or angry. Danika was cute, and definitely half-Kirk. And Jim had the advantage of taking his mom completely by surprise.

"Jim! What are you _doing _here? How long have you _been _here?"

"I came out to see you and Frank before I headed out for…well, wherever we're going next." He shrugged, "I've been here a few hours."

"_I've _been here for three hours, if that's any help." Bones pitched in.

"And I was here for an hour before I picked you up. Four hours."

"Did everything…go okay?"

"Here or in San Fran?"

"Both?"

"Good." Jim smiled and looked down at Danika, who just stared up at him with wide, Kirk-blue eyes. She couldn't decide if she was supposed to be afraid of him or not. He looked at his mom, "Does she have _any _idea who I am?" It would just be typical if Danika had no idea who he was.

"Danika knows who you are, Jim, don't worry." Frank reassured him, "Dani, come and say hello to your big brother. This is Jim." Danika pulled away from their mother and toddled up to Jim, pulling her fingers out of her mouth.

"You Jim?"

"I guess she knows my name." Jim got down on Danika's level, "Yeah, _I'm _Jim. That's Bones." He pointed over his shoulder at Bones, who looked a little sad, he was probably remembering Joanna, "He's my friend."

"Boo." Danika pointed at Bones, who almost died laughing.

"No, Danika, _Bones_!" Jim chuckled, "His name is Bones, but I think that's a little much for you right now. What do _you _think we should call him?"

"Boo! Boo!"

"Well, there you go, Bones. Welcome to the family, old man." Jim resisted calling Bones by his sister's nickname, he kind of liked his head where it was. Danika surprised them all by hugging Jim, petting his tunic and cooing "pretty, pretty".

"I think she likes the colors." Jim got up, taking Danika with him, "I'm sorry I didn't call ahead and warn you."

"No! Jesus, don't be sorry! I didn't think we'd have a chance to see you before you set off for deep-space! Have you boys eaten?"

"Lunch, but not dinner. Bones?"

"Nope." Bones shook his head. Jim snickered. Frank had been the master of sandwiches and cold cereal, and his mom had never really been much of a gourmet cook. Dinner would be…interesting. They were saved any experience with the lack of cooking skills when Frank gently suggested that the occasion merited dinner out, so Bones took a shower to clean up a little and they headed off for a night on the town. Danika was all _over _them, talking a mile a minute without stopping long enough to _breathe_, just loving spending time with the big brother she'd only just met.

* * *

That night, Jim was a little surprised when his bedroom door opened around midnight. Not that he kept it _locked _or anything. He was expecting Bones, but not Danika. She appeared in the doorway, clad in flannel footie pajamas, pink with red hearts, clutching a teddy-bear. She had obviously climbed out of her own bed, no small feat since she slept in a youth-bed with a safety-rail. Jim frowned.

"Danika, what are you _doing_? Silly girl, it's almost midnight!"

"Can't sleep." She padded into his bedroom and came over to the bed where he sat up going over repair logs and status updates from the Enterprise sent to him by Admiral Pike. She tried to climb onto his bed without success and Jim took pity on her and lifted her onto his bed so she sat next to him. Danika, a clingy thing for a Kirk, curled up against him like a small dog and watched him work.

"What'cha doing?"

"Work." Jim just smiled, "Paperwork. Big people stuff."

"Yuck."

"Yuck indeed." He chuckled, "You should be in your own bed, missy."

"I _can't_!" Danika turned big puppy-eyes on him and Jim sighed, completely lost as he tossed aside the report he had been reading.

"And why _not_?"

"B-because there's _monsters _under my bed!"

"Monsters?" Oh, to be four years old and scared of monsters under your bed. Jim didn't want to laugh at her, but it _was _pretty funny.

"Yah, _lots _of monsters! They'll eat me!" She look so earnestly afraid, Jim had to hug her.

"I don't think there's anything under your bed I can't handle." He got up and picked her up, "Come on, we'll scare those monsters off once and for all." She squirmed out of his arms and grabbed him by the hand, hauling him towards her bedroom. Jim remembered going through this stage in his own childhood, and waking Sam up in the middle of the night to run off the monsters under his bed. Of course Sam had hammed it up, arming them both with cooking spoons for swords, pot-lids for shields, and strainers for helmets. Jim grabbed a flashlight for checking under the bed. When they got back to Danika's room, she pointed at her bed.

"There, there! Under there!"

"Alright, let's see what we've got under there." He got down on his belly after setting Danika on the bed itself and wriggled under as far as he could go, "Hmm, nope." He swept his beam, "No monsters under here."

"Really?"

"Really." Jim smiled, "Wanna see?"

"Are you _sure_?"

"Positive. I think they heard me coming and ran off." He smirked as Danika came down to see for herself. He showed her the empty corners, "See? No monsters. I scared 'em off for ya."

"What if they're hiding in the closet?"

"Hmm. You do have a point." Out to check the closet. No, no monsters there either. "Nope, no monsters here. I'm pretty sure they ran off because of me. You're safe, Danika. Go to bed."

"Okay." She climbed onto the bed and hugged him.

"And no more wandering around, you could hurt yourself. Stay in bed. Promise?"

"Promise." Danika kissed him on the cheek, "Night, big brother."

"Good night, Danika." He turned off the flashlight and went back to his room. The rest of those reports could wait for morning. Kicking them off his bed with a clatter, Jim got some sleep. He turned off the bedside lamp and fell asleep listening to the rain hit the window, wondering when the hell _that _had started and how he'd missed it. Oh well, it was nice background noise.

* * *

When Jim woke up the next morning, he was a little surprised to find a small, warm body tucked under the covers with him. Danika, breaking her promise, had snuck back into his room and crawled into bed with him. She hugged her teddy-bear and one hand fisted into Jim's tee-shirt. Jim just smiled, let the blanket fall into place, and closed his eyes again. Was this what it felt like to have a real family? Jim heard his door opened and cracked an eye open. Bones, who just took one look at Danika and smiled as he left with a fond shake of his head. For the first time in three years, Jim Kirk slept in past 0600, and nobody cared.

* * *

**Well, there you go! This was only intended as a one-shot, but if any of my loyal readers (you all know who you are) would like more, just say it. I'll come up with something for a follow-up given the right inspiration and a weekend's worth of time to waste on it. Click that little button and leave a review with any ideas for follow-ups or sequels. **


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